Little, colorful, lighted: a comfortable Wiimote for kids

Are your hands too small for the standard Wiimotes? Looking for something a …

The Wiimote is a great controller, but for a system designed to appeal to so many people it certainly doesn't fit into every hand. I may have dismissed the Pro Pack Mini when it was first shipped to us for testing, but then I opened it up, my wife and kids tried it, and now I'm convinced this is a product that Nintendo should have released itself.

There's nothing fancy going on here; this is merely a Wiimote and nunchuk set that's a better fit for smaller hands, and feels great when used. Oh, and it lights up. Points!

It's third-party, how do those buttons feel?

Not only is the Mini shorter than the standard controller, it's also thinner. The controller is advertised as being 35 percent smaller than the stock controller, and that feels about right. It wasn't comfortable when I held it—too small—but my wife thinks it's a much better fit than the original. My kids? It's finally easier for them to hold the controller and hit the buttons. It's not that they couldn't use the original controllers, it's simply that this set is much better for their size.

The directional pad feels a little more solid than the standard controller, and has a much more pronounced "click" to it when in use. The "A" button on the top of the controller has actually been made larger so you can find it more easily, and is looser than the "1" and "2" buttons on the bottom of the controller, which have also been increased in size slightly. There doesn't seem to be any real difference in feel between the original and the Mini when it comes to the "B" button on the bottom.

The buttons are larger, and the plus and minus keys have been moved down

The only thing that may take some time to get used to is the power button, as it's now on the upper right-hand side of the controller instead of the left. The + and - buttons, as well as the home button, have been moved closer to the bottom, underneath the speaker. Don't worry, it all makes sense in your hand. Another change is the batteries; you'll now be using two AAA batteries instead of AA. The Motion+ accessory works just fine.

The nunchuk

There aren't quite as many changes here. The buttons feel fine, the analog stick isn't quite as nice as the first-party controller, and if you have larger hands you may get annoyed by the cable coming out of the bottom of the controller. In fact, if I grip tightly, my hand forces the cable up, and it almost looks like the top half of the controller could lift off if I force it. If you have smaller hands though—and this is of course who the product was designed for—you won't notice it at all.

Yes, it's smaller

Just like the face buttons on the Wiimote, the analog stick lights up a nice blue color. It's not a big deal, but it adds to the spiffy factor. If you don't like lights though, there is no way to turn them off. Boo!

In conclusion

These controllers are great if you or your kids are Wii fans with smaller hands and a tolerance for LEDs... and that's pretty much the story. They have a great feel, the buttons have been given all the right adjustments, and the price is right: $50 gets you a set that comes with the Wiimote and the nunchuk bundled together. That's $10 less than the first-party accessories, and there is a lot to like here.

There's not much being offered if you are happy with the size and shape of your existing controllers, but this is a fine addition to your collection if you have kids or friends with smaller hands.